


Seer of the End ~ Fred Weasley

by imagineaworlds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Awkward Romance, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Heavy Angst, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Slow Romance, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Tragedy, Tragedy/Comedy, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagineaworlds/pseuds/imagineaworlds
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Original Character(s), Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	1. Original Character Index

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crazywineaunt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazywineaunt/gifts).



** SUKIE NEWLAN **

Born: 10 January 1979.

House: Slytherin.

Family: Professor Celina Newlan (mother), Evan Rosier (biological father), Thomas Newlan (step-father), Cassius Newlan (brother), Alan Newlan (brother).

Relationship(s): Fred Weasley.

* * *

** CASSIUS NEWLAN **

Born: 17 July 1975.

House: Hufflepuff.

Family: Professor Celina Newlan (mother), Evan Rosier (biological father), Thomas Newlan (step-father), Sukie Newlan (sister), Alan Newlan (brother).

Relationship(s): None.

* * *

** ALAN NEWLAN **

Born: 8 August 1976.

House: Gryffindor.

Family: Professor Celina Newlan (mother), Evan Rosier (biological father), Thomas Newlan (step-father), Cassius Newlan (brother), Sukie Newlan (sister).

Relationship(s): Cho Chang.

* * *

**EMMA ATTWOOD**

Born: 27 March 1979.

House: Slytherin.

Family: Unnamed mother and father.

Relationship(s): Draco Malfoy.

* * *

** CLEMENTINE CHARLTON **

Born: 21 June 1979.

House: Slytherin.

Family: Unnamed Muggle-born mother and father.

Relationship(s): Kieran Sheehan.

* * *

** ROSALINE GARDSON **

Born: 16 December 1978.

House: Slytherin.

Family: Unnamed mother and father (deceased).

Relationship(s): None.

* * *

** KIERAN SHEEHAN **

Born: 12 August 1979.

House: Ravenclaw.

Family: Unnamed Muggle-born mother, father, and sister.

Relationship(s): Clementine Charlton.


	2. Original Character Index

**THE FIRST OF MANY**

**THE MUGGLE** **PARKING** lot alone was congested with people struggling to catch their trains on time. It was a sight one could only see to believe. Witches, wizards, and muggles alike pushed violently against each other with their trolleys in hand while navigating King’s Cross Station, a famous station in both the magical world and the mundane, but for different reasons in their own right.

On the 1st of September every year, there was always a spike in the station’s capacity. Thankfully, the traffic of hurried passengers seemed to clear out between Platforms 9 and 10. However, Platform 9¾ was as wild and loud as the muggle platforms, if not more. Magical parents tried desperately to stay close to their children as long as possible before watching them head off for another year at Hogwarts. But that was not until much later.

Long before many of the families arrived and the platform crowded, though, Sukie Newlan and her two elder brothers, Cassius and Alan, were already hugging their mum and stepdad goodbye.

The upcoming year at Hogwarts would be Cassius’s sixth year, Alan’s fifth, and Sukie’s second. Every member of their family was unique in terms of their school house. Their mother, Celina, was a reticent Ravenclaw, Cassius a humble Hufflepuff, Alan a gallant (and very stupid) Gryffindor, and Sukie a sound Slytherin. Their stepfather, Thomas, was born in America, and as such, he attended Ilvermorny, where he was sorted into Horned Serpent. 

Soon after the Newlans had said their goodbyes to their parents, the Hogwarts Express arrived and they were among the first passengers to step on. The three siblings always sat with each other in the same train car, and always invited Alan’s friend Percy Weasley, and Cassius’s Hufflepuff friend Cedric Diggory.

Sukie wasn’t exactly considered _popular_ at school, but she was not considered unpopular either. She had few friends in her year, so instead, she looked to the older kids that Cassius and Alan were friends with. Having Percy join their car meant that his third year prankster brothers, Fred and George, always came along as well. Though they weren’t completely horrible to be around during the year, they seemed to have only one function on the train: to make the ride unbearable. The year previous, they took it upon themselves to give first year Sukie a proper welcoming… by teaming up with Peeves to drench her in swamp water just before the Sorting Ceremony in front of everyone. A year later, and all is forgiven. However, since then, Sukie was still wary to keep an eye on the red headed twins at all times. Sukie Newlan would never again make the mistake of trusting them too much.

On the train, Cassius and Alan sat on the right side of the car, close together. Sukie sat across from them, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, hair tied tightly into a plait that ran down her right shoulder. She had her legs crossed with a book resting against her knees. For a while, the book stayed closed as Sukie glanced out of the train window, until she grew tired of the silence between her and her brothers. Instead of sitting and waiting, she preferred the idea of reading away.

The silence was broken by Cassius, but Sukie continued to read. “Charlie tells me that Harry Potter is supposed to be a first year this year— Ronald’s class!” Cassius told his younger siblings.

Sukie glanced up from her second year textbook that she had bought at Diagon Alley a week prior after begging her mother not to give her hand-me-downs from her brothers. “You mean _the_ Harry Potter?” Sure, she had heard his name plenty of times— The Daily Prophet was mad about him, even though no one had heard of his status since that fateful Halloween night. Not to mention, his family were the stars of multiple books that she had stumbled across over the years.

“Don’t get any ideas, Suk. Who knows if it’s even true. Arthur could have just heard some ministry rubbish…” Cassius warned her, seeing that she seemed a little too interested in having the famous Harry Potter enroll at their school.

Alan cleared his throat, “Actually, I did hear mum and dad talking about it. Apparently the ministry is going crazy over it. Mum said Dumbledore had to fight the Minister for permission to send him a letter,” he drifted his words, falling silent while contemplating whether or not to tell his brother and sister this information.

“And?” Sukie encouraged.

Unable to contain himself, “Well, from what I gathered, the Minister denied him permission, but Dumbledore did it anyways.”

Cassius scoffed, “When did you hear all of this tall tale rubbish?”

“Last week… Mum was looking over her subjects for this year in the kitchen. I was on the couch, apparently they didn't see me.”

“Bullshit!” Cassius exclaimed. Alan reached over and hit his older brother’s arm hard. “Hey!” The two brothers lunged at each other and tackled one another to the ground. They both landed few and fair punches, but quickly grew tired and forgot what it was they were fighting over. “Truce…” Cassius groaned while trying to push Alan off of him.

“Are you two quite done, then? Go sit on opposite sides of the car,” Sukie ordered them. With sighs, Cassius sat near the window and Alan sat next to the car door. “I wonder why she didn’t tell us about it,” she said, flipping a page to her textbook. The page was about Mandrakes and how to properly replant them. It was a load of rubbish, and Sukie couldn’t understand what use she would have for such knowledge when she would inevitably leave Hogwarts. However, it seemed to be a highlight of the Herbology course, and she was extremely bored of keeping her brothers in line.

“Maybe the staff aren't allowed to discuss it with students,” Alan said.

Sukie and Cassius both shrugged their shoulders and mumbled in unison, “Perhaps.”

“Look,” Alan pointed out of the window, “there they are.”

Out in the middle of all of the Hogwarts families in chaos, were seven of the red haired Weasleys, pushing their way to the front to get on the train. With them was a raven haired boy. This trait singled him out from the Weasleys he followed so closely. Then, as the boy moved more, his hair brushed from his face to reveal a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Sukie gasped slightly and slammed her book shut. Both Cassius and Alan raised their eyebrows at their little sister as she stared longer at the boy known famously as Harry Potter. Percy was the first to jump onto the train, not even bothering to say goodbye to his mother and father. Fred, George, and Ron, however, stayed to hug goodbye then jumped onto the train.

Alan stood, unlocked the car door, and went into the corridor. “This way, Perc!” he shouted. Once he found that Percy and the twins noticed him, he reentered the car. Percy, George, and Fred all followed, the latter closing the door behind him. Percy immediately took a seat next to Alan and they began talking in hushed voices. What they were speaking of, Sukie had no clue, and rather preferred not knowing.

George bumped his brother’s arm playfully before walking towards Sukie and yanking the textbook she was reading from her hands. “Lookie here, Freddie, she’s already studying up for the term,” he said, flipping through the pages thoughtlessly. “Why would you be doing your studies before classes start?” he enquired, tossing the book at his brother. Fred snickered and began flipping through the pages, too, laughing at the second year content that they had learned the previous year.

“Because maybe I would like good grades? Look into it,” she snapped at them while lunging to retrieve her book that was being bent and ripped by Fred mercilessly. Fred held it up high, and due to his towering height over Sukie, he took joy in watching her struggle to jump for it. When she almost got it, having it barely graze the tips of her fingers, Fred tossed it back to George. Sukie sat back down, annoyed, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Besides,” she sighed, “this stuff doesn’t come easily to me, so I’d rather be prepared. I don’t want another earful from Professor Sprout.”

“Hmm… Boring,” George tossed the book back to Sukie and she caught it. The twins sat across from her and began making their prank plans for the year on a piece of parchment that Fred had brought onto the train with him.

Sukie looked back down at her book, but still could not shake the curiosity burning inside of her. Why were the Weasleys with Harry Potter? And how did they know him? The questions spinning in her head were enough for her to eventually blurt out, “How is it that you know Harry Potter?” she asked Fred and George. The whole car went quiet. Alan and Percy looked up from their secret conversation, Cassius turned from gazing out of the window, and Fred and George looked up from their parchment. “I saw him boarding the train with Ron… figured you must know him or something.”

“ _We_ don’t know him at all. Our mum happened to spot him all alone at King’s Cross and asked him where he was headed,” George said.

“Yeah,” Fred nodded. “Then he just came with us to the platform. Franky first years, I tell ya.”

“Anyhow, Ron’s friends with him now, I suppose… Them being in the same year together an’ all.” Sukie nodded to their answer, and looked back down at her book, and everyone returned to what they had been doing.

Then Fred looked up quickly, then back down at the paper, then back up again. Sukie raised an eyebrow at him curiously. He looked to George, then the paper, then Sukie again, “Tell me, mate, your mum’s gonna be a professor again this year, right?”

Sukie nodded her head, “Indeed, but what—”

Fred looked back down at the paper and scribbled some more notes, both him and George giggling wildly. They gave each other a high five for their mighty, unknown work.

Then one of Cassius’ Hufflepuff friends, Cedric Diggory, joined them silently. He sat beside his best friend Cassius and they began a casual conversation about their summers, though they spent most of it together, and the upcoming school year. The clock struck eleven and the train jolted forward suddenly. Kids from every car were hanging out of the window to wave their parents goodbye, only causing more hysteria among the parents. Their car was fairly quiet, however. Most of them were tired of saying goodbye to their parents every September, even when they would be reunited for Christmas. Therefore, they all stayed seated as the train continued out of King’s Cross Station.


	3. ACT ONE; SCENE TWO

**TEN MINUTES**

**THE GREAT HALL** was packed with all of the students, new and old, at each of the house tables. Gryffindors had gained many of the students in year one, as per usual, but this counted the famous Harry Potter, as well. Many of the Slytherins, including Sukie, were upset about not gaining a famous figure in their house. Instead, their sworn enemies were gloating over it. A first year Slytherin named Draco Malfoy seemed most displeased by the idea. Word was that Harry mouthed him off after talking poorly about the Weasleys. Fred and George were not too happy to discover that a Malfoy was attacking a Weasley. All of dinner, they had this look of revenge in their eyes. Sukie shook her head at them every time they glanced her way.

By the end of dessert, kids were allowed to sit with other houses. It wasn’t Sukie’s favorite thing, but she got to sit with Angelina, a third year Gryffindor girl. They met through a mutual family friend named Katie Bell who was also a Gryffindor. The Newlans had been friends with the Bells even before Cassius was born. Most of the third and fourth years stared at Angelina, and it was unwanted attention that Sukie really hated. The boys that stared at Angelina consisted of the likes of George and Alan, and they were the most obvious, too. Sukie and Angelina always joked about it, saying how ridiculous it was.

“Ugh, what if he asks you out this year?” Sukie gagged at the thought of George dating Angelina. “Could you imagine?”

Angelina chuckled nervously, “Would it really be _that_ bad?”

Sukie placed her glass of pumpkin juice down, “No, no, no,” she mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What?” Angelina said, her eyes widening.

“Please tell me you don’t…” she gathered the courage to even think the words, “have the hots for George Weasley.”

“No,” Angelina shook her head in denial. “Maybe…” she glanced behind her and waved to a starry eyed George. In response, he smiled brightly and waved back at her.

“Fred, too, aye?” Sukie said, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice to hide her disappointment. She had noticed Fred nudging his brother and pointing their way, both of them fawning over Angelina.

Angelina turned back to her Slytherin friend, “Actually, it’s not me he’s got the likes for,” she joked.

Sukie pretended to laugh before turning back to her book and taking another sip of her now warm pumpkin juice. The taste alone was repulsing, but the thought of Fred eyeing anyone in her direction other than Angelina made her stomach churn.

The rest of the night was fairly quiet between them until Katie came by, insisting that they go to bed. They said their goodbyes to Sukie and left the Great Hall. Only Percy, Alan, Cassius, Cedric, and the twins were left at the large tables. McGonagall was also present to keep an eye on their behavior.

All of the students had moved to the Gryffindor table, which was in the middle. Curfew was fast approaching, but none of them seemed bothered by the looming threat of detention from McGonagall. Most of them sitting at the table were friends, anyhow, so detention together could not be all that bad.

“So, what’s up with Ron buddying up with Harry Potter?” Cedric questioned the remaining Weasley siblings.

Fred and George rolled their eyes, tired of hearing the same question all day. George spoke up, “Dunno.”

“Just ran into him at the station,” Fred continued.

“The rest is history,” they said in unison.

Sukie kicked their shins under the table at their lack of politeness. “Well, I, for one, think that it’s a good thing Harry chose Ron over that snob Draco. What an awful kid— All of dinner he could not stop complaining.”

Cassius scoffed, “Of course… All of those Malfoys think that they’re above us all. Pay no attention to him, he only feeds off of it. If anything, spray him with the fact that his parents supported You-Know-Who back in the day. That’ll shut him up for sure.”

“Why don’t we—” George began.

“Ten minutes until curfew,” announced Professor McGonagall. “Ten points from your houses each if you are not in your common rooms by then,” she warned.

George lost his thought. He and Fred rolled their eyes at her, staying put with Alan, while the rest of them cleared out. Sukie packed up her things and scooped them in her arms, heading for the door when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to find Fred and George. George was sweating nervously, while Fred was smirking evilly.

“George, the Slytherin common room is further than the Gryffindor’s,” Sukie told him.

“I know, I know, but I have to ask a favor of you…” George said nervously. “You see, Fred dared me—”

Fred hit his brother in the arm.

George sighed, “Truth is, I really like Angelina, and you’re friends with her… So I was wondering if you could help me ask her out?”

Sukie laughed, “Honest?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he questioned.

She sighed, “Fine. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Noon, the herbology classroom. If I’m going to help you create the perfect way to ask my friend out, you and your brother can at least help me with my herbology.”

“Still on about that nonsense?” said Fred with a cheeky smile.

“Yes, Fred. _Still on about that nonsense_ ,” she told him, rolling her eyes at him. “Night, boys.”

Sukie left for her common room quickly so that she would not be scolded for being out past curfew by her peers. Thankfully, she was late enough to miss the craziness of the older Slytherins showing around the first years. She had been through that the year before, and that was enough.

The Slytherin common room’s hidden entrance was located in the dungeons. Behind a stone wall, there was a place for students to stand and say the secret password of the year. Well, the students and teachers passed around to other houses that the password changed from year to year, however, no one actually got around to changing it to something creative. Hence, the password was always “pure-blood”. Upon uttering the phrase at the seemingly useless wall, a passage appeared that led to the Slytherin common room. 

Sukie entered, struggling to keep her things together and not trip over herself. That did not stay true for long, because when she entered the cold and damp common room, someone jumped on her to envelope her into a hug. Her things fell to the floor, and she happily hugged the person back. 

Sukie’s true best friend, the only person who cared for her at Hogwarts and was there for her no matter what, was Emma Attwood. Emma was in Sukie’s year and a Slytherin. She had short, dark brown hair with barely visible blonde highlights underneath. Usually, Emma had a tendency to wear lots of makeup, yet it worked for her and actually looked good, compared to Sukie who couldn't care less about makeup. Her eyebrows were bushy, but not yet taking over her forehead, and her eyes were wide constantly as though late nights studying never affected her. Naturally, Emma was very beautiful, even at age twelve. It was no surprise that many of the boys in their year liked Emma. Constantly, Sukie questioned why she surrounded herself with beautiful friends when she could not compete. After always being short, though, Sukie liked knowing that she was taller than Emma. But when Emma put on her famous black heels, Sukie was yet again shorter than everyone.

The friends parted and Emma squealed, happy to see her friend after spending the entire summer apart. “I’m so mad at you!” she said almost playfully. “Where were you on the train? I couldn’t even find you at dinner. It’s almost like you’ve become a ghost…” Emma put her Slytherin robe hood up and held out her hands and made a spooky motion with her fingers, “Whoo…” she attempted to imitate a ghost. It was a poor portrayal. Yet, it made Sukie laugh. “Seriously, though. Were you hiding from me?” Emma asked, removing her hood.

Sukie shook her head, “No. I just was with Fred and George, and my brothers on the train. Then ended up stuck with the first years at dinner. I looked for you towards dessert, but you disappeared.”

Emma smiled, “You’re a bad liar. It’s okay, though. I know you probably had your nose stuck in a book, as always. Which story is the victim of your mass reading problem today?” She helped her friend retrieve the fallen books she had knocked out of Sukie’s arms when they had embraced. “Ah… Our herbology textbook. You couldn’t at least read a novel?”

“Nope. I like it, actually… Hopefully I can pass herbology this year.”

“Well, obviously,” Emma scoffed. “Your mum works at the school. Sprouts has to give you a good grade or she’ll have an ear full from you mum.”

Sukie hit Emma’s arm, “Hey! I can get good grades on my own—”

“ _I_ know that, but does Professor Sprouts?”

“That’s why I have the textbook.” Sukie took her things from Emma. “Come on, let’s get to bed.” Sukie rubbed her eyes, trying to rid her grogginess.

Emma nodded. They headed upstairs towards the girl’s dormitories. Their room was third on the right and it fit four people total. The other two were asleep, so Emma and Sukie tried to sneak around the room quietly to get ready for bed. Getting their uniforms off and folded was hard enough, but getting situated under the covers of the creaky beds was another story. The sound was so loud and outrageous that both Emma and Sukie giggled loudly for a moment, forgetting that they were supposed to be silent. They shushed each other and laid down gently, silently giggling at the creaking sounds as they shifted.

Sukie badly wanted to tell Emma of her talk with Angelina and that Fred was staring at her, and to tell her that George was going to ask Angelina out with Sukie’s help. There were so many things she wanted to tell her best friend, but Emma had closed her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. Sukie sighed, wondering if she would ever find out why it was Fred was staring at her and why Angelina thought it was because he likes Sukie. It couldn’t be me, Sukie thought to herself. Could it? She would not know until Emma, the girl who mastered gossip at the age of five, had some input in the matter. Until then, Sukie would say one more thing before they went to bed.

“I’m glad to be home,” Sukie said.

Emma looked over at her tiredly, but with a brief and small smile said, “Me, too.”


	4. ACT ONE; SCENE THREE

**FRIENDS OF SORTS**

**THE NEXT MORNING** , Sukie woke up to the sound of Emma and the other girls getting ready. It was an hour before the Great Hall was open for breakfast, but Emma had a habit of getting there first for the best picks. The other two girls in their room were the same as the year before and would be as such the rest of their years at Hogwarts. Rosaline Gardson was the eldest of the girls, and she was certainly taller than them. She was a very proud pure-blood Slytherin with the typical lust for power and true ambition. Since their first year, Rosaline had her eye on being a Prefect every year when they’re older and eventually Head Girl in their seventh year. There was only one problem, though. Rosaline wasn’t liked very much by her year, and it showed. People tended to keep their distance from Rosaline, and even professors tried to avoid acknowledging when her hand was raised high in the air during classes.

Rosaline turned away from the mirror to pick up a bobby pin. Her short, black hair normally had a tendency to lay flat in her face whenever it wasn’t in a ponytail; hence she always wore her hair back. Always in style, Rosaline liked to look fashionable and presentable, even though no one really cared.

Clementine Charlton was another story entirely. She was a small girl who hardly ever talked. Both of Clementine’s parents were muggles and neither of them approved of their daughter’s “lifestyle” (as they called it). If it were up to them, they would have prevented Clementine from attending Hogwarts, and they tried when she received her letter. Yet, all of their attempts to shield her from the wizarding world failed, and Professor McGonagall convinced them that their daughter would be best off at Hogwarts. So, Hugh and Marceline Charlton left their daughter to her own accord in Diagon Alley with no way of payment or sense of direction. In other words, Clementine was purely alone and lost in an unfamiliar world. However, upon arriving at Hogwarts, she found her way and eventually began following Emma and Sukie around in the hopes that she would make some friends. It seemed to work, because by Christmas their first year, she was one of the popular girls, despite being very shy. She still tagged along with Sukie and Emma, just not as much anymore.

Sukie admired her for a moment. Clementine’s auburn hair was curly and tangled, but over the summer she had done something to it and dyed it so that it was straight and blue. It was an odd look, but no one dared question it or ask about it. It was clearly a statement, and no one wished to challenge that. Her hair matched her blue eyes, and her skin was more tan than usual. Perhaps she spent her summer by a beach? Sukie thought.

Sukie sat up, “Morning, everyone.” They all glanced at her. Emma was applying her makeup cautiously, Rosaline was pinning her braided hair into a bun, and Clementine was lacing up her shoes. They were all dressed and nearly ready to walk out of the door. “Why did no one wake me?”

Clementine laughed, “You had a… uh, rough night.”

“What are you on about, Minnie?” she questioned. Sukie had created the nickname one night last year when the four girls were bonding. Now, everyone called her Minnie— that was unless they wanted to be slapped in the face by one of the most popular girls in the Slytherin house.

Rosaline turned from the mirror, having finished her hair, and lowered her arms. She fell to the ground dramatically, impersonating Sukie, “Not George, Angelina!” She gasped loudly, “Maybe I _do_ love Fred!” Rosaline stood and bowed, “Thank you.”

The three girls laughed. Sukie didn’t. 

“All night, Suk, you were on about George asking Angelina out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gryffindor Tower heard you,” Emma said while finishing her makeup. Emma, Clementine, and Rosaline grabbed their books for their morning classes and neared the doorway. “Don’t think about it too much, okay, Suk? It was just sleep talking, it isn’t a big deal. We’ll see you at breakfast.”

They left silently and shut the door behind them. Sukie groaned loudly as she hid her face in her pillow and screamed. She was infinitely embarrassed, and she knew they would never let the joke go. And she was right. All day, Emma teased her by battering her eyes and muttering Fred’s name. At one point she did it loud enough that Fred, who was sitting next to Sukie in class, heard them and turned to listen. Sukie stopped counting how many times she hit Emma’s arm in an attempt to make her stop, but she never ceased.

Following Professor Quirrell’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the Ravenclaw second years, it was lunch time. Emma scurried off in a rush to be the first to lunch, leaving Sukie alone to go wait for Fred and George. Sukie headed to the Herbology classroom at twelve. As much as she wanted to spend her lunch hour with Emma, she was stuck with Fred and George. She only hoped that they would bring her some notes of any use in exchange for her help, but even that was a lot to ask of them.

They were late, of course, by almost half an hour. But when they did show up, they were panting heavily as if they had run the entirety of the castle before arriving. Sukie looked at them with an eyebrow raised from her curiosity. They ignored her weird look and sat down. George had brought an empty notebook, while Fred brought a handful of loose parchment that was stained with spilled ink. George opened the notebook he brought and found a self-writing quill in his bag.

First, they started with how he would ask Angelina out on a date. The twins had known her longer, but only as friends, and that was not how George wanted to come off. Instead, he wanted to make their proposal very clear that it was a true date. Fred confirmed the first date of when their class would head to Hogsmeade. In one month's time, Professor McGonagall would collect parent signatures before students would head to the nearby village. In order to set up the date, George would have to ask her to go out with him at the Three Broomsticks in three weeks. In the meantime, Sukie would get him the galleons he would need to pay for the food and any snacks from Honeydukes. Obviously, the trip is not very long and it is very public, however, any date on Hogwarts property might as well be broadcast on the radio to the world.

All of this was decided in under twenty minutes, so in exchange Fred handed Sukie the loose pieces of parchment. It contained all of their notes from last year’s Herbology lessons. Sukie looked at them, “You… actually took notes?” She seemed suspicious.

“Well, we won’t admit anything, but we just so happened to _stumble_ across Professor Sprout’s lesson plans for this year and had the notes for them,” Fred began.

George continued, “So, as the great friends that we are, we are handing these notes off to you.”

“What’s the catch?” she questioned. “Surely you wouldn’t just _hand_ me all of the answers to this year’s Herbology class.”

“Fred wanted to jinx it so that the words disappear once you read them the first time— you’re lucky I stopped him.”

Fred threw his hands up in defense, “But, you have to admit, the look on her face would have been worth it.”

George nodded, “I must admit… it would be very funny. Anyhow, we’ve gotten good grades every year at Hogwarts so far, so they should help you pass.”

“Treat it well—” warned Fred.

“—Because there’s more if we ever need your help again.”

Sukie looked at them with a wrinkled forehead and an upturned nose. “Keep your other notes. If you want my help, you’ll get me in on your pranks. I’d rather be apart of the plans than be ambushed.”

“No—”

“—Way,” Fred shook his head.

“Notorious pranks at Hogwarts are _our_ thing.”

“You’ll have to get in line to join the club.” They stood and collected their things.

Sukie sighed dramatically, “Fine…” She looked down at her bag, “Oh, no! We didn’t go over what Angelina likes! Well, this date is doomed if you, George, can’t relate to her…” She sighed dramatically again for effect. To the twins, in that moment, it was apparent why they should not have trusted someone as pure Slytherin as Sukie. Being cunning and ambitious to Sukie was like spreading butter on a piece of toast— easy.

The boys looked at each other. “Is she—” George began.

Fred nodded, “Yep. Georgie, we have officially been bribed with information by a second year… Sukie Newlan, no less.”

Sukie snorted, feeling slightly offended. “But, you know, it’s alright if you don’t want to let me into your… _club_ , was it? I guess you’ll just have to figure Angelina out the hard way. Perhaps you will accidentally offend her— she gets offended easily.”

Slowly, Fred and George sat back down and placed their things where they were before. “Fine. We’ll agree to your terms, only because we are impressed by how well you cornered us.”

“Wicked respect,” they said at the same time.

“Here is the secret to our success,” said George as he reached into his bag and revealed a blank piece of parchment.

“I don’t under—”

Before Sukie could finish, George took out his wand and placed it against the parchment, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” The once blank paper became stained with lines of ink that at first seemed random, but slowly looked like they were making a map. It was after the page was finished moving that Sukie realized that it was a map of Hogwarts. “Name someone— anyone you want to know about where they are.”

“My brothers… and Emma Attwood,” she said to them.

George smirked widely as the map showed Cassius Newlan, Alan Newlan, and Emma Attwood roaming the halls. “The Marauders Map.”

Fred took the map into his hands and pointed his wand at the page, “Mischief managed.” The map of Hogwarts disappeared and became blank once more. “Snatched it from Filch’s office our first year when getting the stern detention talk.”

“Never even noticed that it was gone.”

“This map is the reason we have been able to pull off pranks and never get caught. We now entrust this knowledge to you…” George stopped, almost reluctant to continue.

Fred patted his brother on the back, “Partner.”

Sukie grinned wickedly. “Wonderful.” She shuffled through her things, “I have a short list of things Angelina likes. You can research them or whatever else it is you boys do to prepare for a date.” She stood and packed her things away neatly. “Oh, and I was serious— she does get offended by almost everything,” Sukie continued sincerely, “so be careful, George. Please.” She smiled and left to find Emma where the Marauder’s map said she was: The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She probably got detention from McGonagall for running through the corridors to lunch.


	5. ACT ONE; SCENE FOUR

**HONEDUKES** ****

**TECHNICALLY, SECOND YEARS** weren’t allowed into Hogsmeade like the older kids, which meant that Sukie couldn’t help George any further than preparing ahead of time for his date. The Friday after Sukie spoke with the twins about their plan for asking Angelina out and them then revealing the Marauder’s Map to Sukie, George nervously finally gathered the courage to pop the question. He did it in front of nearly all of the Gryffindors, Sukie and her friends, and Cassius’ friends. At first, once George was done presenting his offer, Angelina stood there silently, taken aback. Sukie worried that she would actually say no, despite knowing that Angelina truly did like George back.

Then, Angelina slowly nodded, a smile appearing on her face as she accepted. George immediately cheered, thanked Angelina and promised they’d have a great time, then ran into his brother’s arms and hugged him with triumph. Everyone laughed as Angelina ran to Sukie and sat down next to her, her face bright red from blushing. Sukie denied knowing anything about it, but Angelina thanked her friend anyhow for helping George finally ask her out.

All of this meant, however, that Sukie only had two weeks to find a way into Hogsmeade, otherwise, George would botch the whole thing on his own, or Fred would likely do something to mess it up. At first, she thought about convincing her mother into taking her into Hogsmeade, but then Sukie would have more problems like her mother following her around, which they couldn’t have. Then, on Sunday, after a long weekend of thinking things over and talking with Fred and George about last minute details, a thought hit her. What if she used the Marauders Map to escape the castle and go into Hogsmeade? She would have to be careful not to get caught by any of the older kids, plus McGonagall.

Convincing the boys to give her the map in the first place would be a challenge; however, George offered the idea first. They explained the map to her, “These are the halls of the school,” George began.

“And these…” Fred pointed to extra halls on the map that Sukie had never seen before, “are the secret passages underneath the castle. This one here will lead you into a cellar beneath Honeydukes. From there, you’ll be able to blend in with me.”

Sukie nodded, “You’re sure this will work?” They both nodded.

And it did work. The day that the third years gathered with McGonagall to hand in their forms for Hogsmeade, Sukie waited by the tunnel to Honeydukes for the signal. As the large class of third year Gryffindors disappeared from sight, Sukie stayed and waited for the signal, despite wanting to move and just go. And when the clock tower rang at the top of the hour, Sukie dove into the tunnel and hurried through it with the Marauders Map in her hand as a guide.

When she arrived at the cellar under Honeydukes, Sukie muttered the words, “Mischief managed.” The map’s secrets disappeared, and Sukie folded the map and stuffed it in her backpack. Carefully, Sukie tiptoed up the creaky steps that led to a hatch, just as Fred and George promised. But when Sukie went to push it open, she found that it was locked. With a groan of anger, Sukie hunkered back, but immediately froze when she heard footsteps overhead.  _ I can’t get caught _ , she thought to herself, trying to keep still and quiet.

“Alohomora,” someone muttered, and she heard a loud clunk as the lock fell. And, suddenly, the hatch opened and Fred was standing there, looking down at the blonde girl. She took a sigh of relief as her body relaxed. “What in the bloody hell are you doing down there?” he pretended to be shocked. When Sukie rolled her eyes, Fred laughed and held a hand out. Sukie took his hand and he pulled her up out of the cellar, and she sort of fell into his chest when she tripped on the last step, “You’re a lil’ clumsy, you know.”

“Shut it,” Sukie hit his arm as she stood up straight. “Are they already together?”

Fred nodded, “And cozy,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ugh,” Sukie groaned before starting off out of Honeydukes.

Sitting outside on a bench just under the overhang of the Honeydukes’ shop, George and Angelina were snacking on chocolates and candies. George was struggling to open a box of Chocolate Frogs to avoid the nasty enchantments’ escape, but it eventually jumped out of its box and hopped away, despite George trying to chase after it. Angelina stayed on the bench as she watched George make a fool of himself until he gave up on the frog and returned to sit next to her again. They started talking about the card he got while Angelina licked at the lolipop almost larger than her head.

Then, after it was revealed that George got a Godric Gryffindor card, he asked if she wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks to get Butterbeers. She nearly jumped up and down with joy at the thought. So, Fred and Sukie followed them as they walked to the Three Broomsticks. The entire walk there, Angelina laughed and grabbed at George’s arm to get close to him. 

Sukie smiled proudly. “That’s a good sign,” she told Fred.

He turned to her with confusion plastered to his face, “What?”

Sukie cleared her throat and stood tall, as though she had taken another personality, then batted her lashes at Fred. With a fake smile, she leaned into him, “Oh, Fred! You’re just  _ so  _ funny,” she gave a fake laugh and batted her eyes again with more exaggeration. Sukie shook off the fake personality, “That’s what every girl does when they’re hitting on a guy. Trust me.” They waited a minute after George and Angelina went into the Three Broomsticks before walking in. The couple had taken a seat at the table in the corner to avoid the public's eye for a little privacy, while Fred and Sukie took a seat at the bar. Sukie called over the man who worked there, “Sir, can you send two Butterbeers to that table over there?” she pointed to the red headed boy and the girl with black curls.

The man nodded, and Sukie turned her back to the man to watch George. They were sitting close together, smiles beaming on both of their faces. Behind her, Sukie heard the man set down two glasses to wait for his payment before he took them over. Sukie dug into her bag, past the map, and got out two galleons.

After placing them on the counter, the man was about to take the glasses over before Fred stopped him. “That’s alright,” he said, taking the glasses, “I’ve got it, thanks.” Sukie watched as Fred took the cups from the man and walked them to the table on the opposite corner. She couldn’t hear anything they were saying, but knew that they were thanking Fred, and he likely cracked a joke which made Angelina laugh. Then, as Fred was walking back to the bar, he gave Sukie a playful wink and sat next to her. George took a sip of his Butterbeer, and Angelina was about to press the edge of the cup to her lips when she screamed out and dropped the cup.

Sukie looked at Fred who was grinning devilishly, then watched as Angelina ran from the Three Broomsticks out of fright. “Did you do this?” Sukie interrogated. Fred nodded, unable to say anything through the laughter.

George picked up Angelina’s cup and glanced into it to see what was wrong. “You put frog’s eyes in her Butterbeer, you prick!” he shouted at his brother angrily. George stomped over to his brother and pulled at his jumper, “You bloody idiot!”

Sukie pushed George away from his brother and took his hand, “Come on, George, he’s not worth it. Walk with me back to the castle. Fred has a long walk back by himself to think about what he’s done.”

“Oh, come on, Sukie!” Fred protested. “It was funny!”

“We’ve been planning this day for weeks, Fred… Why’d you have to mess it up?” Sukie shook her head disapprovingly, then dragged George out of the Three Broomsticks. Together, they walked back to the castle silently through the underground tunnels, wanting to stay out of sight. When they were back inside the castle, George suddenly hugged Sukie, which caught her off balance. Then, with his head lowered, George walked off for the Gryffindor tower, and Sukie for the dungeons. Sukie was so upset with Fred, it made her blood boil to think about it. After everything, he let his jokester side get in the way of his twin brother having one good day with a girl he’d been trying to get with for three years. She only hoped that Fred would learn his lesson and leave Angelina be the next time. No one could stop those boys from pranking each other and others, but Sukie wished that Fred would have had better timing.


	6. ACT ONE; SCENE FIVE

**THE KITCHENS**

**THE NEXT FEW** days were a bit odd, to say the least. Although Sukie had many classes with the Weasley twins, they didn’t talk to each other. Instead, she stuck to her books and her Slytherin friends. Emma and Minnie hardly nagged Sukie about what had happened because they knew they wouldn’t get any answers. However, on Thursday, Sukie caught Emma whispering with Fred, and they immediately stopped when they saw her staring. Then, on Friday night, just after dinner had finished and everyone was headed back to their common rooms, Fred grabbed Sukie’s arm. She tried to pretend that she was still very invested in her book and that he hadn’t caught her attention, but the truth was, he had.

With a tone of annoyance, Fred tried to speak with her, “Come on, Sukie,” he pleaded, running to catch up with her. Yet, Sukie kept her head lowered towards the words on the pages in her hands. She was reading the words, but they were going straight through her, as she was paying more attention to Fred. “Please, just listen…” he was trying to get himself between her and the book, but she didn’t budge. Eventually, he became too frustrated to be nice, so he stepped in front of her, causing a collision between them, and he snatcehd the books from her hands. “Now will you listen?”

“What do you want, Fred?” she asked, trying to snatch her book back from him.

“Listen, I know that you’re mad at me, but let me make it up to you, yeah?”

Sukie began considering it, but she was still waiting for his official offer.

“Meet me at the tunnel by the dungeons after curfew,” Fred stuffed the Marauder’s Map in between the pages of Sukie’s book, then handed it back to her once he was sure that no one spotted them in the trade off. In Fred’s eyes, there was a glint of worry that Sukie wouldn’t agree, but Sukie nodded and took her book back.

When Sukie got back to the Slytherin common room, Emma and Minnie were waiting for her, like they had known all along. Which, they probably did, considering how Emma was pestering Fred the day prior. “So, how’d it go?” Emma said with hope in her voice.

Sukie shrugged, “It was fine… Why?”

“Well, he didn’t give specifics, but he said that he was going to do something special… so… what was it?”

Sukie lied, not wanting to reveal the tunnels, the map, or the plan to be out past curfew, “He only apologized. You know, there’s not much in the way of sappy nonsense that Fred Weasley can handle. Almost everything’s a joke to him.”

Emma’s smile faded, “You don’t truly believe that, do you?” Sukie shrugged. Emma sighed, then shook off the mood in the room. “Well, at least he apologized,” she said with a fake smile. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed.” Emma stood between Sukie and Minnie, and wrapped her arms in theirs. “One month into our second year, and the drama already begins.” Minnie laughed, but Sukie didn’t get the joke.

While the other girls were slowly falling asleep, Sukie rolled onto her side, still wide awake. It was most likely after curfew, but Rosaline was still awake, Sukie just knew it. So, she stayed still, waiting until the one girl who could mess everything up was sound asleep. Rosaline was infamous in their room for snoring loudly at night. Sometimes the girls would try to use charms to muffle it, but it never really worked, so they all got used to it. Thirty minutes later, when Sukie was still wide awake, Rosaline began snoring.

Sukie smirked and carefully sat up, trying not to creak the bed. However, the bed was always loud, no matter which way they turned. In the dead of night, even louder than Rosaline’s loud snoring, Sukie’s bed creaked. She instantly froze with panic, unable to lay back down without creaking the bed. Yet, no one woke. Sukie continued on, trying to move fast to minimize the sounds.

After making it out of the common room with the map in her hand, Sukie snuck around the dungeons to find the secret tunnel she was meant to meet Fred at. Five minutes of searching around in the dark with a weak lumos charm, Sukie found the entrance. “Fred?” she whispered into the tunnel, feeling around for the walls. “Fred?” Suddenly, Sukie was frightened by someone sneaking up behind her and shaking her with a “ _ Boo _ ”. Sukie shrieked, then covered her mouth to stay quiet. Behind her, Fred was laughing and clutching onto the cobblestone wall for balance. “Merlin’s Beard, Fred! Are you insane?”

“Only a little.” Fred stood as he tried to stop laughing. “Come on,” he waved her on into the tunnel to follow him. “Do you have the map?” Sukie nodded and gave it to him. Fred took out his wand, “Lumos.” Then, he took the map and pointed his wand down at it, “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good.”

Sukie raised a brow, “I thought you would have memorized the map by now.”

“Oh,” Fred nodded, “we did. It’s for you. This tunnel is connected to nearly everything in the castle. Think of it as the epicenter. Anyhow, use this tunnel to get around after curfew, it’s when the best pranks happen.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

They continued on through the dark tunnels, “Is this the part where you kill me?” Sukie joked.

Fred laughed, “Yes. Come on, we’re nearly there.”

It was curious how Fred knew at all where they were since it was so dark, yet he was right. Just ahead was a dead end, and Sukie began to worry that he had pulled a prank on her and George was waiting in the shadows to do something more cruel than just scaring her. However, Fred pressed a hand against the wall in front of them and pushed to reveal a door. Light bled into the dark hallway which they were standing in, making their lumos charms useless. Once they had put their wands away, it was revealed to be a well lit room beyond the door. Fred gestured her in with a grin when he saw the look of curiosity dawn on her face. Sukie walked past him and into the room, which turned out to be a large kitchen. And not just any kitchen, but  _ the  _ kitchens, as in the ones used to feed all of Hogwarts in the Great Hall.

Sukie turned to Fred and was about to list off questions when he began talking. “Our second year, George and I made friends with the house elves that work here in the kitchens so that we could get away with more stuff, and we help them out, too. So, I asked if we could use it.”

“For?” she inquired. “And… won’t we get in some sort of trouble for this?”

Fred shook his head, “Nope. It’s safe here, none of the professors ever suspect that students are sneaking in here since the elves are pretty tight on security. Anyhow, we can use it for whatever we want. Studying— Making plans for pranks, that’s what George and I do when we can’t use the common room. I don’t know… it’s just a quiet place to think and snack, ya’ know?” Sukie nodded. Fred looked nervous, “Do you like it?”

Sukie beamed, “Of course!” She thought for a minute, “And now that you mention it, I am struggling with those herbology notes you—”

Fred cut in, “I can help.”

“Did you pay attention in Professor Sprout’s classes last year at all?”

He shrugged, “Occasionally. But, me and George cheated on the tests, so I ended up just learning the answers anyhow, so I can help.”

Sukie agreed to his offer and they took a seat at the large table in the middle. It was covered in flour and sugar, but they made do. In a cupboard behind Fred, there were bags of chocolate chip cookies for deserts, but they stole them and ate handfuls of them at a time straight out of the bag. Hours seemed to pass where they talked about new pranks and school. Since Sukie hadn’t brought Herbology notes, they continued with conversation. Around four, Sukie felt her eyelids start to droop lower and lower and her brain started to slow as she went to sleep. Fred shook her awake and insisted they go back to their common rooms. But the truth was, Sukie didn’t want to go back to her common room just yet. Things seemed to be different when she was around Fred. He was a good friend. And she wished that they were in the same house. It was a shame that all of the Weasleys were in Gryffindor, and she was in Slytherin.

Finally, when they did leave the kitchens, Sukie and Fred parted at the dungeons. Sukie turned to him, “Fred?” He cocked his brow in curiosity. “Can we do that again? I had fun.”

It was like he was trying to suppress some emotion, since Fred’s cheeks turned as red as his hair and he croaked out, “Sure. How about next Friday?”

“We could make it a weekly thing?” she suggested.

“I’ll— I’ll have to see what my schedule looks like…” he lied, trying to hide his flustered face. Somehow, Sukie hadn’t noticed his embarrassment, figuring it was just him when he was tired or that the firelight was reflecting oddly in the cobblestone hallway.

“Night, Fred,” Sukie said as she started to walk away.

Fred called after her, “Goodnight, Suk!” Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. That was the first time Fred ever called her “Suk”. And while it shouldn’t have been a big deal, the name rang in her ears as she continued on without saying anything.


	7. ACT ONE; SCENE SIX

**TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS**

**SOMEHOW, THE WEEKS** seemed to pass by faster the more Sukie and Fred met. Each day, Sukie looked forward to reaching those Friday nights where she could escape Hogwarts and the growing tumor that was Draco Malfoy. He seemed to take pleasure in bullying Sukie and her friends. Many times, he would drag on about Sukie’s mother and “how awful of a professor she is”. It made Sukie’s blood boil, but she contained her feelings until she was in the kitchens with Fred.

As they would work, Fred would listen to what she had to say. Everything she had to say. And not once did he interrupt or protest. He just sat there, listening and watching. Not only was reading the entire Herbology Year 2 textbook early on helpful, but Fred’s tutoring (despite how light it was), actually seemed to help. It was clear the Professor Sprout was proud of the improvement Sukie had made on her herbology grade.

But as Christmas was just around the corner, Fred and Sukie could hardly concentrate on any work. They just wanted to get out of school and go home, take a break from everything. Soon, their long nights of studying turned into long nights of planning pranks. Many of their pranks, however, couldn’t be pulled off without either Peeves or George— or both. Hence, they started bringing George to the kitchens, too— Only after he took an oath, though, to tell no one of their late nights spent in the kitchens. At first, George was upset that his brother had been planning panks without him, since that was “their thing”, but he was at least glad that they decided to finally include him.

Word was catching on around the school that Sukie was spending a little _too_ much of her free time with the Weasley twins. What started as an innocent rumor was now growing into a serious problem. People were beginning to suspect that Sukie was dating one of the twins, but no one ever flat out came up to any of them to just ask so that they could deny it all and make it go away.

Just before the Halloween feast, though, when Sukie, Emma, Angelina, and Katie were all about to walk into the Great Hall, they were stopped by Sukie’s older brother, Alan, He asked if he could speak with his sister alone. Sukie told her friends that it was alright and Emma promised to save her a seat at the Slytherin table. When Sukie’s friends were out of sight, Alan pulled her to the side and got close.

“Why did I have to find out from Percy that you’re dating George?”

Sukie took a defensive step back from Alan and coffeed. “What are you talking about?” She looked down both sides of the corridor to make sure that no one had heard the question. Alan inquiring about such a thing was a sure way to add fuel to the fire. “Who told Percy that? Did George say that?” She was going to kill Fred and George for not denying these rumors.

“I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. Is it true?”

“Of course not!”

“Sukie, I know they’re fun to be around, but you shouldn’t _date_ one of them.”

“Alan! I’m not!”

“Then why’s the whole school talking about it?” he asked, ignoring the fact that she was genuinely innocent. Sukie turned to walk away. It wasn’t worth talking to Alan right then when he wouldn’t even listen to her. “Where do you go every Friday?” he called after her to catch her attention again.

She froze in place to think about what she could possibly say or do next. Denying it all was her best option, she supposed. So with her head raised and her face hard as stone, she turned back around and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Emma tells me you disappear every Friday night when you think everyone has gone to sleep.”

Shit.

“Mr. Newlan, Ms. Newlan, what are you two doing out here? The feast is about to start,” McGonagall said from down the hall. She was walking into the feast with Sukie and Alan’s mother, Professor Newlan, when she spotted the siblings bickering to the side. Alan’s shoulders relaxed and Sukie shook off her tall stance. “Come on, then.” McGonagall stepped in while Professor Newlan sent her children a warning look before following suit.

Sukie didn’t meet her brother’s gaze as he pushed past her. No one seemed to notice how tense the Newlans were when they entered the loud Great Hall. Sukie was slowly following in her brother’s shadow before he turned to go to the Gryffindor table and she turned to go to the Slytherin table.

Emma spotted Sukie and waved her over. As Sukie sat down in the space Emma had reserved for her, she didn’t smile or thank Emma for looking out for her— which was normally the correct and polite response. Emma took note of this and immediately sensed that something had happened with Alan.

“What is it? What did he say?” She sounded angry, like she would instantly go up to Alan and get in his face about upsetting Sukie. “Was it about—” Sukie didn’t want her to say what everyone else was thinking. It was already humiliating enough. So Emma stopped immediately when Sukie lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she apologized while sitting forward in her seat.

“Good evening,” Dumbledore announced to the room as he stood from his seat the professors’ table at the front of the room.

Everyone turned their attention to the Headmaster. All except Sukie. She stared at her empty plate while contemplating where Percy got the notion that Sukie and George were dating. It was absolutely preposterous— but what made it worse was that it was all anyone could talk about after Dumbledore concluded his Halloween night speech and the feast began.

It seemed like Alan was still the only one brave enough to actually confront Sukie about it. But his words still rang in her ears. Emma knew that Sukie was sneaking out and with whom. There was no way of knowing if she knew about the kitchens, though, and there was no chance to ask her about it while she was talking to Draco Malfoy. Even though Emma knew that Sukie was upset and that she didn’t like the brat Malfoy, Emma’s full attention was on Draco and she was adamant about getting to know him better.

Sukie looked up from her full plate and glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Fred and George were sitting with their brothers and Harry Potter. George was eating like he was scared that the food would suddenly disappear from his plate and he would never eat again. Meanwhile, Fred looked miserable while holding his head up with one elbow on the table and his palm on his cheek. He was pushing around the potatoes on his plate until he sensed Sukie’s lingering gaze. He looked straight up at her and after a moment of staring at her, he tried to smile slightly and wave before anyone could see. He waited for her response with a bright face, but it fell when he realized that she wasn’t going to wave or smile back. She couldn’t think about anything else other than the fact that the twins must have been encouraging this rumor as some kind of sick joke. Sukie thought that she was supposed to be in on all of their pranks now, but it felt like she was the target of one now.

Just then, when it looked like Fred was going to get up from his seat to go talk to Sukie, the doors to the Great Hall flew open and Professor Quirrell came running in with a panicked step and breath. “Troll!” he bellowed. “Troll! In the dungeons!” The room quickly fell silent as everyone listened to the startled professor. “He’s down there, on the loose, wreaking havoc!” And then he passed out onto the floor.

Fred and Sukie looked at each other again, but this time with their eyes shot wide and panic washing over them. Everyone suddenly started screaming and running in different directions like a group of headless chickens. Emma grabbed Sukie’s hand and pulled her to her feet, but where on Earth would they go? It wasn't like they could run down to their dorm room. Quirrell said that the troll was in the dungeons, and that was where the Slytherin house was.

“Silence!” Dumbledore’s voice echoed throughout the room. “Please, do not panic!” When all of the students were quiet and paying attention, he continued. “Now, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw’s prefects will lead their houses back to their dormitories. As for Slytherin house, you will remain here with Professor Hoot. The rest of the teachers will follow me into the dungeons to deal with the troll.” After Dumbledore was done, three of the houses got up from their tables and started grouping together to follow their prefects to their dormitories.

Fred, in the sea of students, somehow managed to work his way over to Sukie. “Meet me in the kitchens. We’ll be safe there, Suk.”

Sukie didn’t get a chance to inquire about how or why she’d be going to the kitchens during all of this and without being noticed. Before anything else could be said between them, Fred was pushed forward by the rest of the students trying to get out of the Great Hall.

As the Ravenclaws surrounding the seats Sukie and Emma were standing at pushed their way to the door, Sukie managed to slip into the crowd unnoticed. Emma was still freaked out by everything and trying to talk to Draco that she didn’t even realize that she wasn’t holding Sukie’s hand anymore.

Sukie was nearly to the door. She could see Fred’s red hair turn a different corner than everyone else. It was right there. She’d be able to sneak out of the Great Hall, run to the kitchens, and hide with Fred until everything calmed down. Perhaps they’d even discuss the rumors going on. Maybe she’d be able to ask him why he looked so upset at dinner. Maybe he’d ask her the same. Things could finally get cleared up.

“Professor Hoot, Sukie Newlan’s trying to leave!” Rosaline called out over everyone. Sukie cringed and tried to hide in the crowd again, but Professor Hoot had already spotted her because of Rosaline.

“Miss Newlan!” Professor Hoot yelled. Sukie’s shoulders fell and she rolled her eyes. “Miss Newlan, return to your house table, please.”

Sukie groaned and threw her head back. She stared at the enchanted ceiling as the three other houses finally left and it was just the Slytherins and Professor Hoot in the Grand Hall. The ceiling wasn’t bright with night stars anymore. Ever since Quirrell came running in, the enchantment had grown dark. There were clouds covering everything and not a single star peered through. It certainly reflected how Sukie’s hopes of meeting up with Fred in the kitchens were squashed. And she couldn’t help but laugh at herself.

“What was that all about?” Emma whispered as Sukie sat back down.

Before Sukie could answer, Rosaline stormed over. “Are you trying to get all of our house points taken away?!” Sukie raised a brow at Rosaline. “You can’t just go running off with your boyfriends when there’s a troll roaming around! You don’t think about anyone else, do you?”

Sukie’s brows scrunched inward in anger, “That’s what you’re worried about right now?”

Rosaline sat down and got close. She didn’t care if the other students heard, but if Hoot caught wind of it, then it would be counter productive to Rosaline’s misguided task of protecting their  _ precious _ house points. “You should count yourself lucky that you haven’t been caught by a teacher during your midnight escapedes.” Sukie’s shock must have been obvious because Rosaline followed up with, “I know that you sneak out at night to hang out with Fred and George. I know that you were about to leave to see them. So I’m pretty sure that this troll business is all your guys’ doing. Am I wrong?” It was a rhetorical question. Rosaline didn’t actually want an answer because she believed she had it all figured out already. “Is this your initiation or something? They convinced you to help them get the troll into the dungeons? How did you even do it?”

“We  _ didn’t _ do it, Rosaline. Where would we even find a troll?”

“I don’t know. The Forbidden Forest? Is that where the three of you go at night?”

Rosaline’s tone was starting to piss Sukie off. While she had intended to sort things out like  _ friends _ , Rosaline was proving to be a mythic bitch. And Sukie knew exactly how to push her buttons, too. “That’s news to me. I suppose I’ll let you know how it goes the next time I go to the Forbidden Forest.”

“I wouldn’t be shocked if the clones were the ones who let the troll in,” Draco Malfoy spoke up. Great, bow Emma was surely going to gang up on Sukie, too. “I mean, those Weasley scum are already used to living like pigs, so of course they’d be comfortable around  _ trolls _ .”

“No one asked you, Malfoy,” Sukie hissed.

“Seriously, Sukie,” Emma jumped in. Called it, Sukie thought to herself. “Where do you go? Why do you have to hide it? Why are you suddenly so obsessed with them?”

“I’m not obsessed with them!” Sukie slammed her hands on the table and stood.  “Fred and George are just my friends!”

“So, then, where do you go?”

Sukie bit her tongue. As upset as she was, and despite feeling desperate to defend herself, she couldn’t give up the truth. This was beyond stupid house points. Fred trusted her with the Marauders Map, he trusted her enough to take her to the kitchens, and she was finally in on all of their plans. Even though she was upset with Fred and George, she couldn’t break that trust. She had to do her part to preserve their friendship. Besides, she’d have enough to beg forgiveness for after not being able to escape to the kitchens; she didn’t want to add betraying him to the list.

Sukie slowly took her seat again, acutely aware that everyone was watching her closely. Everyone knew now that Sukie was friends with the Weasley twins. Even Professor Hoot was listening… This was what Alan was trying to warn against, wasn’t it? It was like he said, the Weasleys were fun to be around, but they weren’t exactly admired by the staff or the majority of the student body. Sukie wasn’t ashamed of being friends with them, but it scared her to think that people would look at her differently because of it or treat her differently because they’d assume that she was the same kind of chaotic. Sukie didn’t want this to hurt her friendships or her grades… But being a Slytherin and befriending the twins was proving to be more complicated than she could have possibly predicted.

All she could do now was to hope that the troll situation would be resolved soon and she could go hide in her room. Christmas break was so close. So, so close. In only a few short weeks, Sukie would be back at home and she’d be able to figure out what she was going to do about everything. But what she knew for certain was that she couldn’t sneak off to the kitchens anymore, and for some reason, her heart wrenched in her chest.


End file.
